Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
MUMBAI - Picking up the Pieces
by James G. Conway, Global Intel Strategies
(Reprinted from the Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security International, May 21, 2009)
The pattern was established before Mumbai – Islamic terrorists are targeting hotels owned by western companies, symbols of the west and who host foreigners from around the globe.
· The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan in September of this year, 60 victims
· The Serena Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan in January of this year, 8 victims
· The Radisson SAS Hotel, the Grand Hyatt and the Days Inn in Amman, Jordan in 2005, 60 killed
· The JW Marriott in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2003, 12 victims
· The Sheraton Hotel in Karachi, Pakistan in 2002, 11 French engineers killed
Last week, 10 terrorists representing elements from within the Pakistani terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Toiba or LET, an Al-Qaeda affiliate pulled off a nearly 60 hour terrorist attack on live TV watched around the world and by Americans as they gathered with families to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. As opposed to a single car bomb, the drawn out televised terror and resulting global psychological effect was immense. This psychological impact is the inherent goal of all terrorists. Islamic terrorism follows the same template but along with the psychological blow, they go after and attempt to wreak havoc on a society’s financial sector. Bin Ladin has stated it over and over in multiple and rambling Fatwa’s or “orders” to his followers. Unfortunately, the impact on India’s economy, tourism, travel and foreign investment, will be significant.
Terrorists always attack symbols. On 9/11, the Al-Qaeda operatives targeted the symbols of our economy, the World Trade Center; the military, the Pentagon; and our democracy, the thwarted attempt on the Capitol or the White House.
As airports, diplomatic missions, embassies and other western targets have “battened down the hatches” throughout the Middle-east and Asia, western hotels have remained relatively open and present themselves as a classic “soft target” for terrorists bend on causing death and destruction.
The hotel industry is caught in a quandary. On the one hand, hotels want to provide security and safety for their guests and to minimize their liability. On the other hand, they want to appear warm and welcoming particularly for the tourist sector of their guests. Hotels that resemble security zones with magnetometers at the doors, armed security personnel opening your trunks and waving extended mirrors under your vehicle undercarriage do not give guests a warm and fuzzy feeling upon arrival. This coupled with the added perception that this hotel may be more of a target than others in the area can have a significant negative impact on business. The last thing hotel managers want to consider in these tough financial times is another obstacle to filling empty hotel rooms.
Much as we Americans have become accustomed to nearly undressing at airport security checkpoints, walking in our socks on airport floors and bringing only enough shampoo and deodorant for a 3 ounce stay, hotels and security staffs must “close the window” and mitigate their vulnerability. Unfortunately, it’s only putting a “finger in the dike” in that once one target hardens, terrorists improvise and move to the next “soft target”, but substantive steps need to be taken. In the aftermath of the Bali disco bombing in 2002, Indonesian authorities tightened security at all hotels. As a result, terror cells have resorted to other “soft targets” such as café’s and unprotected public areas. The security in place at the Islamabad Marriott earlier this year, where 60 died and many more were injured, prevented the suicide bombers from entering the hotels inner perimeter security and is credited with saving hundreds of lives.
Page 2
Outside of the obvious security measures, hotel management and security personnel have to consider and impose some pro-active steps to minimize the threat. Some security considerations would include:
· Establish and maintain liaison with high-level police and/or intelligence services in the area regarding specific or potential threats. In the Mumbai incident, based on specific intelligence, the Indian intelligence service and police issued a warning to hotels in the area in September but the threat went stale and security barricades and other measures faded away.
· Provide police and maintain an updated blueprint of the facility’s layout. This would provide police and hostage-negotiators with key intelligence regarding entry points, potential escape routes and the like during a protracted event such as Mumbai.
· Establish a chain of command within hotel staff with specific roles and responsibilities. As a part of ongoing staff training, conduct a drill or small table-top exercise at least once a year. This will address relative hotel staff turn-over and to keep safety and security in the forefront. Our Israeli counterparts have continuously made staff security measures a mindset and part of life in hotels, malls, café’s, airports and throughout the fabric of Israeli society thus “hardening” many traditional “soft targets”.
· In addition to training staff, conduct background investigations on all incoming employees. In the Mumbai incident, a member of the terror group secured a position in the kitchen staff and gathered key pre-operational intelligence which facilitated the standoff.
· Create and establish procedures for addressing suspicious hotel guests. The police liaison function can often assist in establishing safe and legal protocols.
· Secure the approval of all security measures by corporate headquarters and establish a line of communication with key corporate headquarters elements in the event of an attack. These elements at the headquarters level would include executive, legal, and public relations.
Counter-terrorism measures were once the purview and responsibility of only governments. Today, in this ever increasing world of shadowy and unpredictable terror threats to our western democratic “soft targets”, it has become the responsibility of both the public and private sector to heed and maintain our safety.
James G. Conway, Jr. is the President and Managing Director of GLOBAL INTEL STRATEGIES. He is a counterterrorism expert, former diplomat and FBI counterterrorism manager who worked with U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies throughout the world. He currently consults and advises government agencies, media and academia on terrorism matters as well as private sector corporations on security, counterterrorism measures and risk mitigation.
(Reprinted from the Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security International, May 21, 2009)
The pattern was established before Mumbai – Islamic terrorists are targeting hotels owned by western companies, symbols of the west and who host foreigners from around the globe.
· The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan in September of this year, 60 victims
· The Serena Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan in January of this year, 8 victims
· The Radisson SAS Hotel, the Grand Hyatt and the Days Inn in Amman, Jordan in 2005, 60 killed
· The JW Marriott in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2003, 12 victims
· The Sheraton Hotel in Karachi, Pakistan in 2002, 11 French engineers killed
Last week, 10 terrorists representing elements from within the Pakistani terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Toiba or LET, an Al-Qaeda affiliate pulled off a nearly 60 hour terrorist attack on live TV watched around the world and by Americans as they gathered with families to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. As opposed to a single car bomb, the drawn out televised terror and resulting global psychological effect was immense. This psychological impact is the inherent goal of all terrorists. Islamic terrorism follows the same template but along with the psychological blow, they go after and attempt to wreak havoc on a society’s financial sector. Bin Ladin has stated it over and over in multiple and rambling Fatwa’s or “orders” to his followers. Unfortunately, the impact on India’s economy, tourism, travel and foreign investment, will be significant.
Terrorists always attack symbols. On 9/11, the Al-Qaeda operatives targeted the symbols of our economy, the World Trade Center; the military, the Pentagon; and our democracy, the thwarted attempt on the Capitol or the White House.
As airports, diplomatic missions, embassies and other western targets have “battened down the hatches” throughout the Middle-east and Asia, western hotels have remained relatively open and present themselves as a classic “soft target” for terrorists bend on causing death and destruction.
The hotel industry is caught in a quandary. On the one hand, hotels want to provide security and safety for their guests and to minimize their liability. On the other hand, they want to appear warm and welcoming particularly for the tourist sector of their guests. Hotels that resemble security zones with magnetometers at the doors, armed security personnel opening your trunks and waving extended mirrors under your vehicle undercarriage do not give guests a warm and fuzzy feeling upon arrival. This coupled with the added perception that this hotel may be more of a target than others in the area can have a significant negative impact on business. The last thing hotel managers want to consider in these tough financial times is another obstacle to filling empty hotel rooms.
Much as we Americans have become accustomed to nearly undressing at airport security checkpoints, walking in our socks on airport floors and bringing only enough shampoo and deodorant for a 3 ounce stay, hotels and security staffs must “close the window” and mitigate their vulnerability. Unfortunately, it’s only putting a “finger in the dike” in that once one target hardens, terrorists improvise and move to the next “soft target”, but substantive steps need to be taken. In the aftermath of the Bali disco bombing in 2002, Indonesian authorities tightened security at all hotels. As a result, terror cells have resorted to other “soft targets” such as café’s and unprotected public areas. The security in place at the Islamabad Marriott earlier this year, where 60 died and many more were injured, prevented the suicide bombers from entering the hotels inner perimeter security and is credited with saving hundreds of lives.
Page 2
Outside of the obvious security measures, hotel management and security personnel have to consider and impose some pro-active steps to minimize the threat. Some security considerations would include:
· Establish and maintain liaison with high-level police and/or intelligence services in the area regarding specific or potential threats. In the Mumbai incident, based on specific intelligence, the Indian intelligence service and police issued a warning to hotels in the area in September but the threat went stale and security barricades and other measures faded away.
· Provide police and maintain an updated blueprint of the facility’s layout. This would provide police and hostage-negotiators with key intelligence regarding entry points, potential escape routes and the like during a protracted event such as Mumbai.
· Establish a chain of command within hotel staff with specific roles and responsibilities. As a part of ongoing staff training, conduct a drill or small table-top exercise at least once a year. This will address relative hotel staff turn-over and to keep safety and security in the forefront. Our Israeli counterparts have continuously made staff security measures a mindset and part of life in hotels, malls, café’s, airports and throughout the fabric of Israeli society thus “hardening” many traditional “soft targets”.
· In addition to training staff, conduct background investigations on all incoming employees. In the Mumbai incident, a member of the terror group secured a position in the kitchen staff and gathered key pre-operational intelligence which facilitated the standoff.
· Create and establish procedures for addressing suspicious hotel guests. The police liaison function can often assist in establishing safe and legal protocols.
· Secure the approval of all security measures by corporate headquarters and establish a line of communication with key corporate headquarters elements in the event of an attack. These elements at the headquarters level would include executive, legal, and public relations.
Counter-terrorism measures were once the purview and responsibility of only governments. Today, in this ever increasing world of shadowy and unpredictable terror threats to our western democratic “soft targets”, it has become the responsibility of both the public and private sector to heed and maintain our safety.
James G. Conway, Jr. is the President and Managing Director of GLOBAL INTEL STRATEGIES. He is a counterterrorism expert, former diplomat and FBI counterterrorism manager who worked with U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies throughout the world. He currently consults and advises government agencies, media and academia on terrorism matters as well as private sector corporations on security, counterterrorism measures and risk mitigation.
Houston and the Threat of Terrorism by James Conway
The Center for Terrorism Law, St. Mary's Law School, Terrorism Review
http://www.stmarytx.edu/ctl/pdf/V1N1.pdf
http://www.stmarytx.edu/ctl/pdf/V1N1.pdf
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